We are now half way through our cruise and in Halifax.
So far the highlight of our travel has been the sail away – not for the sail away party (which we have not yet made) but the sound of the ships horn reverberating and echoing throughout the port – the sound truly does bounce back at you, for every pull of the ships horn the sound echoes back. It sends shivers down my spine and the hairs on my arm stand on end, it is quite something to know that we are part of the experience that departs these ports and contributes a farewell to the folk we leave behind – it truly makes me proud to be part of the QM2 experience. It’s a grand way of saying goodbye and adieu to the ports and a big thank you to our hosts for treating us so well and making us feel so welcome, whilst sad, it is also very exciting as we depart for our next port of call.
Last night we dressed up for our formal night (fortunately my ball gown wasn’t too tight, which I put down to my workout at the gym and which I sorely regretted this morning when I tried to lift the hairdryer “over’ my head and which was painful – very painful). Last night we tried pheasant for the first time (this trip is to be a trip of “firsts” and this pheasant was a first for us. Alas we found the pheasant a tad try and very salty which may have been due to the bacon that was wrapped around it. But with extra sauce to coat it, it was quite palatable but I don’t think we will be having it again. Actually my mouth is watering at our next portion of Chateaubriand which I can’t recommend highly enough – this has to be ordered 24 hours in advance.
We both skipped pud, (was having a very virtuous day and was determined to see the night out on a high). We went to G32 for a drink and a cigarette, but it was dead at that time (9.30) so went down to the casino, which again was pretty busy. I wasn’t too keen to play anything as I lose confidence when I see all the gamblers taking their seats and playing the big bucks, but in the end hubby convinced me to try my hand at the black jack table which had a few empty seats – in fact we were the only two playing for about half an hour. We allotted ourselves $50 each and would then call it a night. Through trial and error and a few learning curves (I am a total novice at gambling) I managed to walk away from the casino with $140 and hubby with nothing. It was a real high for me as I am not a gambler and $50 is not to be sniffed at, a nice face cream, a nice top, shoes…………..and I hate throwing money away, but it really is quite addictive. But I did put my sensible head on and after a consistent winning streak and three black jacks on the trot I decided to call it a night (plus hubby had nothing left and was looking quite miffed). Hubby’s dad is a SERIOUS bridge player – being a grand master and going to games all over the UK and even so far as Europe and playing in Bermuda at the bridge tournaments. When my FIL loses at bridge it is not a good night J we get a step by step guide of how bad the partner was and how he could have won if they had of played this hand or that hand. I I always thought that hubby was very easy going and a good loser and fun to be around, but alas, I fear that he has some of his father in him and that losing is not his ball game. Hence we went back to the cabin and all was quiet (very quiet) from thereon in. I did what my mother law would do in these situations and just carried on as though nothing had happened (trying very hard not to gloat) Hubbys excuse for losing was something along the lines of “you had a good seat there, I got all the bad [ crap ] cards, you were lucky you were seated there, if I had of been sat there I would have come away better……..” (blah blah blah). J (Ray – are you reading this?? [ the FIL] ) I don’t think it helped that I was counting the chips over and over as we made our way back to the cabin and then proceeded to display them and take a photo of my winnings (yes, I really love to rub it in) J
Anyway I was up bright and early this morning – the clocks went forward an hour – I went outside and watched our progress up the estuary towards Halifax and promptly went back to sleep again until we were woken up to the announcement that we had berthed in Halifax and that we were free to disembark. Normally I am an early bird being up at 6 in the morning each day, but now I am finding it increasingly hard to get up before 8.30 – 9.00 and that’s without the late nights. I’m not sure how I am going to adjust when we go back to work but it will be worth it.
Justin and I took a walk along the boardwalk to the Maritime Museum (about ¼ of a mile away) which was nice to stretch our legs and had a fascinating hour/hour and a half in the museum. We learnt so much about the titanic, with relics of the actual ship, the Halifax disaster (when an ammo ship exploded in port and killed in excess of 1’600 people (though I stand to be corrected after a few wines) and also about the ship, the St Louis, that was carrying Jewish German immigrants who were fleeing the Hitler regime but were turned away from Cuba, America and finally Halifax as they were trying to emigrate to any country that would accept them. Finally they had to go back to Germany and a list of the names of some of those passengers are memoralised in the Maritime Museum along with some of their photos which really drives it home and makes you realize just how lucky you are to be in the here and now. It was very humbling to look around the museum, not only does it focus on the great ships of today but also focuses on the many ships that have gone down (mostly around the port of Halifax) it was also a memoriam to those who worked on the lifeboats in treacherous conditions, and those sailors/lifeboat men that did not have the advanced technology of the boats that we have today and went out in the very worst of conditions to save lives and more often than not put their own lives at risk.
Following on from the museum we had arranged to meet up with some friends, Todd and Holly who have both previously worked in Bermuda and who are now living in Halifax. They took us to a great pub in Halifax “The Old Triangle Irish Alehouse”. This is great pub for pub grub, the best nachos I have ever tasted followed by haddock and chips (which hubby adored) and I had the haddock fish pie. It was all delicious and I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s only a few blocks off of front street where the ship is moored and well worth the walk (apparently the nachos we had for starters (a plate for four) are voted #1 in Halifax and I can highly recommend them.)
After our meal Holly and Todd took us for a drive over the bridge to Bedford which is beautiful, we were lucky enough to see places that most tourists on a one day stop over don’t see. Being originally from England and having lived in Bermuda for the past ten years it was a delight for us to see houses made mostly of wood and surrounded by coniferous trees and all dotted around the water; we saw some beautiful places. Finally we were taken to Todd and Hollys home which is a lovely, dare I call it, New England home and enjoyed a glass of wine followed by more reminiscing about our time together in Bermuda and mutual acquaintances before we finally realized we would have to make it back to the ship for fear of being left behind. Thank you so much Todd and Holly for making us so welcome and giving us a tour of your beautiful home land.
We didn’t realize that we should have been back on the ship for 4.30 and actually made it for 4.45 (along with a lot of other passengers). There was the usual call out for passengers unaccounted for (actually the first time this has happened on this cruise – not sure if they are on the ship or not) and we are now sailing away from Halifax and bound for Quebec. I am sad to leave Halifax as it is the realization that we are another day closer to finishing our cruise but still the port of call that I am so looking forward to awaits us. I am sad that we only have one day in Quebec as I believe that we could easily spend two, three days there seeing all the wonderful sights it has to offer but we will do the usual mad one day whistle stop and try and cram in as much as possible and hopefully grab at least one souvenir of our time spent here. Hubby wants to go back to Bar Harbour, already we are talking about a trip to New England when holidays permit – flying into Boston and travelling up the East coast – RV would be fun. We shall see. So much to do, so little time to do it in. I think I shall have to put together a bucket list of places to see and do before I kick the proverbial bucket – so many places and so little time. Cruising is wonderful as it gives you an insight into what might be – there are places you love and want to visit again [ and again ] and there are places you think ‘yes, one day was enough – enough to sate my curiosity’ I’ve a feeling that once we hit Quebec, one day will certainly not be enough.
Tonight we are dining ‘en suite’. We have had a lovely day with lovely friends a few glasses of nice wine and now we want to chill and we certainly do not need another big meal inside us. I think we will walk along to the back deck and sit in the hot tub with a glass of wine and then come back and order some room service (the burgers are to die for and available to everyone).
Tomorrow is a day at sea which I am very much looking forward to. A lazy day, with a long lie in, followed by coffee and toast and a lie down with a book. After that it is in the lap of the gods as to what we will do with our day, I may play bingo, I may go for cream tea (which I still haven’t tried yet after two cruises), I may finish my book and hit the library again, or I may go to the Golden Lion for their infamous fish and chips. Only time will tell and you can be sure I’ll be back to tell you all about our day at sea.
By the way, for anyone that is coming on this trip in the future the temperatures have been lovely. When we sailed into Halifax this morning there was a lot of dew over the deck and chairs, and the sky was overcast but warm. It was cool this morning but I was quite comfortable in long shorts and long t shirt but as the day wore on it warmed up. Again, I advise light cardigans/fleece/long thin trousers/long shorts, this really is a trip of varying weather but so far thank god, no rain.
Right, signing off until tomorrow (Wednesday) sleep tight everyone.
So far the highlight of our travel has been the sail away – not for the sail away party (which we have not yet made) but the sound of the ships horn reverberating and echoing throughout the port – the sound truly does bounce back at you, for every pull of the ships horn the sound echoes back. It sends shivers down my spine and the hairs on my arm stand on end, it is quite something to know that we are part of the experience that departs these ports and contributes a farewell to the folk we leave behind – it truly makes me proud to be part of the QM2 experience. It’s a grand way of saying goodbye and adieu to the ports and a big thank you to our hosts for treating us so well and making us feel so welcome, whilst sad, it is also very exciting as we depart for our next port of call.
Last night we dressed up for our formal night (fortunately my ball gown wasn’t too tight, which I put down to my workout at the gym and which I sorely regretted this morning when I tried to lift the hairdryer “over’ my head and which was painful – very painful). Last night we tried pheasant for the first time (this trip is to be a trip of “firsts” and this pheasant was a first for us. Alas we found the pheasant a tad try and very salty which may have been due to the bacon that was wrapped around it. But with extra sauce to coat it, it was quite palatable but I don’t think we will be having it again. Actually my mouth is watering at our next portion of Chateaubriand which I can’t recommend highly enough – this has to be ordered 24 hours in advance.
We both skipped pud, (was having a very virtuous day and was determined to see the night out on a high). We went to G32 for a drink and a cigarette, but it was dead at that time (9.30) so went down to the casino, which again was pretty busy. I wasn’t too keen to play anything as I lose confidence when I see all the gamblers taking their seats and playing the big bucks, but in the end hubby convinced me to try my hand at the black jack table which had a few empty seats – in fact we were the only two playing for about half an hour. We allotted ourselves $50 each and would then call it a night. Through trial and error and a few learning curves (I am a total novice at gambling) I managed to walk away from the casino with $140 and hubby with nothing. It was a real high for me as I am not a gambler and $50 is not to be sniffed at, a nice face cream, a nice top, shoes…………..and I hate throwing money away, but it really is quite addictive. But I did put my sensible head on and after a consistent winning streak and three black jacks on the trot I decided to call it a night (plus hubby had nothing left and was looking quite miffed). Hubby’s dad is a SERIOUS bridge player – being a grand master and going to games all over the UK and even so far as Europe and playing in Bermuda at the bridge tournaments. When my FIL loses at bridge it is not a good night J we get a step by step guide of how bad the partner was and how he could have won if they had of played this hand or that hand. I I always thought that hubby was very easy going and a good loser and fun to be around, but alas, I fear that he has some of his father in him and that losing is not his ball game. Hence we went back to the cabin and all was quiet (very quiet) from thereon in. I did what my mother law would do in these situations and just carried on as though nothing had happened (trying very hard not to gloat) Hubbys excuse for losing was something along the lines of “you had a good seat there, I got all the bad [ crap ] cards, you were lucky you were seated there, if I had of been sat there I would have come away better……..” (blah blah blah). J (Ray – are you reading this?? [ the FIL] ) I don’t think it helped that I was counting the chips over and over as we made our way back to the cabin and then proceeded to display them and take a photo of my winnings (yes, I really love to rub it in) J
Anyway I was up bright and early this morning – the clocks went forward an hour – I went outside and watched our progress up the estuary towards Halifax and promptly went back to sleep again until we were woken up to the announcement that we had berthed in Halifax and that we were free to disembark. Normally I am an early bird being up at 6 in the morning each day, but now I am finding it increasingly hard to get up before 8.30 – 9.00 and that’s without the late nights. I’m not sure how I am going to adjust when we go back to work but it will be worth it.
Justin and I took a walk along the boardwalk to the Maritime Museum (about ¼ of a mile away) which was nice to stretch our legs and had a fascinating hour/hour and a half in the museum. We learnt so much about the titanic, with relics of the actual ship, the Halifax disaster (when an ammo ship exploded in port and killed in excess of 1’600 people (though I stand to be corrected after a few wines) and also about the ship, the St Louis, that was carrying Jewish German immigrants who were fleeing the Hitler regime but were turned away from Cuba, America and finally Halifax as they were trying to emigrate to any country that would accept them. Finally they had to go back to Germany and a list of the names of some of those passengers are memoralised in the Maritime Museum along with some of their photos which really drives it home and makes you realize just how lucky you are to be in the here and now. It was very humbling to look around the museum, not only does it focus on the great ships of today but also focuses on the many ships that have gone down (mostly around the port of Halifax) it was also a memoriam to those who worked on the lifeboats in treacherous conditions, and those sailors/lifeboat men that did not have the advanced technology of the boats that we have today and went out in the very worst of conditions to save lives and more often than not put their own lives at risk.
Following on from the museum we had arranged to meet up with some friends, Todd and Holly who have both previously worked in Bermuda and who are now living in Halifax. They took us to a great pub in Halifax “The Old Triangle Irish Alehouse”. This is great pub for pub grub, the best nachos I have ever tasted followed by haddock and chips (which hubby adored) and I had the haddock fish pie. It was all delicious and I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s only a few blocks off of front street where the ship is moored and well worth the walk (apparently the nachos we had for starters (a plate for four) are voted #1 in Halifax and I can highly recommend them.)
After our meal Holly and Todd took us for a drive over the bridge to Bedford which is beautiful, we were lucky enough to see places that most tourists on a one day stop over don’t see. Being originally from England and having lived in Bermuda for the past ten years it was a delight for us to see houses made mostly of wood and surrounded by coniferous trees and all dotted around the water; we saw some beautiful places. Finally we were taken to Todd and Hollys home which is a lovely, dare I call it, New England home and enjoyed a glass of wine followed by more reminiscing about our time together in Bermuda and mutual acquaintances before we finally realized we would have to make it back to the ship for fear of being left behind. Thank you so much Todd and Holly for making us so welcome and giving us a tour of your beautiful home land.
We didn’t realize that we should have been back on the ship for 4.30 and actually made it for 4.45 (along with a lot of other passengers). There was the usual call out for passengers unaccounted for (actually the first time this has happened on this cruise – not sure if they are on the ship or not) and we are now sailing away from Halifax and bound for Quebec. I am sad to leave Halifax as it is the realization that we are another day closer to finishing our cruise but still the port of call that I am so looking forward to awaits us. I am sad that we only have one day in Quebec as I believe that we could easily spend two, three days there seeing all the wonderful sights it has to offer but we will do the usual mad one day whistle stop and try and cram in as much as possible and hopefully grab at least one souvenir of our time spent here. Hubby wants to go back to Bar Harbour, already we are talking about a trip to New England when holidays permit – flying into Boston and travelling up the East coast – RV would be fun. We shall see. So much to do, so little time to do it in. I think I shall have to put together a bucket list of places to see and do before I kick the proverbial bucket – so many places and so little time. Cruising is wonderful as it gives you an insight into what might be – there are places you love and want to visit again [ and again ] and there are places you think ‘yes, one day was enough – enough to sate my curiosity’ I’ve a feeling that once we hit Quebec, one day will certainly not be enough.
Tonight we are dining ‘en suite’. We have had a lovely day with lovely friends a few glasses of nice wine and now we want to chill and we certainly do not need another big meal inside us. I think we will walk along to the back deck and sit in the hot tub with a glass of wine and then come back and order some room service (the burgers are to die for and available to everyone).
Tomorrow is a day at sea which I am very much looking forward to. A lazy day, with a long lie in, followed by coffee and toast and a lie down with a book. After that it is in the lap of the gods as to what we will do with our day, I may play bingo, I may go for cream tea (which I still haven’t tried yet after two cruises), I may finish my book and hit the library again, or I may go to the Golden Lion for their infamous fish and chips. Only time will tell and you can be sure I’ll be back to tell you all about our day at sea.
By the way, for anyone that is coming on this trip in the future the temperatures have been lovely. When we sailed into Halifax this morning there was a lot of dew over the deck and chairs, and the sky was overcast but warm. It was cool this morning but I was quite comfortable in long shorts and long t shirt but as the day wore on it warmed up. Again, I advise light cardigans/fleece/long thin trousers/long shorts, this really is a trip of varying weather but so far thank god, no rain.
Right, signing off until tomorrow (Wednesday) sleep tight everyone.
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